Credit: Shutterstock photoActive broad-market exchange-traded funds in Thursday's regular session:
SPDR Select Sector Fund - Financial ( XLF ): -1.8%
SPDR S&P 500 ( SPY ): -0.1%
VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF ( GDX ): +2.4%
iPath S&P 500 VIX Short Term Futures ETN ( VXX ): -0.%
iShares MSCI Emerging Index Fund ( EEM ): +0.5%
Broad Market Indicators
Broad-market exchange-traded funds, including SPY, IWM and IVV were higher. Actively traded PowerShares QQQ (QQQ) was up 0.02%.
US stocks were mostly lower at session's half, as Wall Street keeps a cautious eye on Hurricane Irma while still reeling from the news that President Donald Trump's chief economic advisor will likely not be tapped to succeed Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen. Also weighing on market sentiment is the news that Fed vice chairman Stanley Fischer's surprise resignation. These, plus lingering North Korean tensions, are overshadowing the extension of the U.S.'s debt ceiling.
Disney (DIS) shares were also weighing on the blue chip index after Disney's CEO warned that full-year earnings could fall short of analyst's estimates. The stock is down more than 3% to their lowest level since November.
In economic data news, initial jobless claims for the week ended Sept 2 soared 62,000 -- its strongest weekly gain since 2005 -- to 298,000, significantly above estimates of 241,000. The negative impact on shares was curbed by a greater-than-expected revision to Q2 non-farm productivity to +1.5% from +0.9%, better than estimates for a revision to +1.3%. Unit labor costs were up 0.2%, down from +0.6% initially, and less than the +0.3% revision anticipated
Power Play: Health Care
Health care funds Health Care SPDR (XLV), Vanguard Health Care ETF (VHT) and iShares Dow Jones US Healthcare (IYH), were firmer. Biotechnology fund iShares NASDAQ Biotechnology Index (IBB) was up 0.4%
NewLink Genetics (NLNK) was up 40% after it said data from an ongoing phase 2 study of indoximod , in combination with Merck's (MRK) Keytruda showed improved response rate for patients with advanced melanoma. The company said the drug combination was well-tolerated, and obtained better results than pembrolizumab alone. "The updated data further support our decision to initiate a pivotal trial for patients with advanced melanoma," CEO Charles Link said.
Winners and Losers
Financial
Select Financial Sector SPDRs ( XLF ) was down 1.8%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X shares (FAS) was down 2.8% and its bearish counterpart, FAZ, was up 2.8%.
Mastercard (MA) was up 3% to a new record after the company raised its 2017 revenue outlook to the "high end of low double digits" percentage range from previously "low double digits." The company's 2016-2018 longer-term net revenue compound annual growth rate was also adjusted to "high end of low double digits" from "low double digits", and earnings per share CAGR on a currency-neutral basis to "approximately 20%" from the previous guidance of "mid-teens" growth
Technology
Tech funds Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK), iShares Dow Jones US Technology ETF (IYW), iShares S&P North American Technology ETF (IGM) and iShares S&P North American Technology-Software Index (IGV) were firmer. SPDR S&P International Technology Sector ETF (IPK) was flat.
Among semiconductor ETFs, SPDR S&P Semiconductor (XSD) was down 0.2% while Semiconductor Sector Index Fund (SOXX) was up 0.3%,
Fitbit (FIT), the maker of wearable gadgets, and DexCom (DXCM), which makes devices for continuous glucose monitoring for diabetics, agreed to work together to develop and sell products to help people better manage their diabetes and monitor their overall health with mobile tools. First, the companies will make Dexcom CGM data available on Fitbit's new smartwatch, Fitbit Ionic. This will enable the users of Dexcom's CGM applications to display their data on their wrists. FIT shares were up nearly 13% while DXCM shares were down 2%.
Energy
Dow Jones U.S. Energy Fund (IYE) was flat and Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) was up 0.1%.
Matrix Service Company (MTRX) rose 12% after the company said late Wednesday Q4 sales fell 18.9% to $291.8 million from the year-ago period but topped the CapIQ mean for $281.8 million. It swung to a net loss of $0.04 per share from a profit of $0.34 last year and matched expectations. For FY18, it expects sales between $1.23 billion and $1.33 billion and EPS between $0.55 and $0.75. Estimates are for sales of $1.2 billion and EPS of $0.55.
Commodities
Crude was down 0.1%. United States Oil Fund (USO) was down 0.1%. Natural gas was down 0.7% while United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was down 0.8%. Gasoline was down 1.3% and United States Gasoline Fund (UGA) was down 1.9%.
Gold was up 1%. SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) was up 0.9%. Silver was up 1.2%, while iShares Silver Trust (SLV) was up 0.9%.
Consumer
Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP), Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF (VDC) and iShares Dow Jones US Consumer Goods (IYK) were weaker.
Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) was also in the red while retail funds SPDR S&P Retail (XRT), PowerShares Dynamic Retail (PMR) and Market Vectors Retail ETF (RTH) were positive.
RH (RH) rose more than 42% after it said Q2 adjusted EPS rose to $0.65 from $0.44 in the year-ago period and topped the CapIQ mean for $0.47. Adjusted net revenues increased 14% to $619 million from a year ago and net sales were $615.3 million. Estimates for total sales were $606.4 million. It raised its FY adjusted net sales outlook to $2.42 billion to $2.46 billion from $2.4 billion to $2.45 billion and boosted its adjusted net income guidance to $70 million to $77 million from $60 million to $70 million. Adjusted EPS are seen between $2.43 to $2.67. Forecasts are for total sales of $2.44 billion with adjusted EPS of $2.09. For Q3, it sees adjusted net revenues of $575 million to $590 million, adjusted operating margins of 7.0% to 7.6%, adjusted net income between $16 million to $19 million, and adjusted diluted EPS between $0.68 to $0.80. The Street sees total sales of $598.78 million and adjusted EPS of $0.38.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
